Clock ticking for Congress on Ex-Im

A worker rolls fiberglass fabric onto a blade mold at the Siemens AG turbine blade plant in Fort Madison, Iowa. The U.S. Export-Import Bank agreed to lend $65 million for Peruvian wind farms that will use Siemens AG turbines made in Fort Madison and at another Siemens plant in Kansas. The bank helps the U.S. compete globally.

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SAN ANTONIO — The end of September will be do or die for the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

Congress must do or the Ex-Im Bank will die and, along with it, crucial help for Texas companies whose lifeblood is the export of goods. Also gone will be good Texas jobs.

A recent Express-News article by business writer David Hendricks spelled it out.

The Ex-Im Bank, which provides loans and loan guarantees to foreign companies that want to buy U.S. goods, will end if not reauthorized by Sept. 30.

The tea party has targeted the agency as a purveyor of corporate welfare. A Texas congressman, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Stephenville, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, criticizes Ex-Im for that and for alleged fraud.

Hendricks noted that there have been some publicized cases of fraud in Ex-Im transactions. It is a rare government program, however, that doesn't have such incidents. If the programs provide a critical service, this means they should be cleaned and tightened up, not eliminated.

The Ex-Im Bank provides such a service.

Between 2007 and 2014, the bank helped 1,338 Texas exporters sell $21 billion in goods. Its loans returned $1.057 billion to the agency in fiscal year 2013, and its loan default rate has been just above 0.2 percent per quarter.

This indicates need — and benefit.

Yes, private banks can also provide such services, but at terms likely to be more expensive. That means less growth for U.S. and Texas export companies. Other countries have programs similar to what the Ex-Im Bank provides.

Among the companies that benefit is SANA International, a 13-employee San Antonio company that Hendricks described.

“Without it, we wouldn't have been able to grow like we have,” said SANA International general manager Rossie Ortiz.

Many business groups and others, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have been pushing back.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has launched an investigation of possible corruption in the agency, focusing on four employees who left Ex-Im.

Even if this committee uncovers abuses, the need must be weighed against the harm that would be done if Ex-Im isn't reauthorized.

If the nation didn't have the Ex-Im Bank, it would be less competitive globally.